October 29, 2010

This is the view from our hosts' abode. I mean, I guess it's ok. From my own home you can see a bar, a mill that emits a putrid dog-food smell as it is currently being torn down, and the orange abomination that is our neighbor's house. There is also a lovely view into our back yard where we have a classy chicken-wire fence around our mostly bare/dead garden.

Naturally, with the splendors of tropical heaven all around us, we spent some time indoors playing with the Pattersons' new Wii Fit. I can happily report that my Wii Fit age is 31, only two years older than I actually am. I can also report that anything having to do with coordination is bound to be a fiasco, while I am awesome at anything having to do with luck or with standing mostly still. So...nothing has changed since grade-school. For example, trying to head-butt soccer balls was IMPOSSIBLE, but I ruled the ski jump:

None of the following people are any of us. The only surfer in the group had a broken leg. I'd like to say that I would try surfing, but I'm not that good of a swimmer, plus I had enough trouble just staying upright in the breaking waves on shore. Followed by a whole lot of trouble with sand in places sand should not be.

The sand in Minnesota is totally different - tiny little balls that roll right off the skin. In Hawaii the sand is made of bits of shell that suction themselves to you. Everywhere. So that's one drawback to paradise. The other is that there are cockroaches and poisonous centipedes. But Raid smells surprisingly good.

And this is a mountain by some name that rests in an area I don't know that was once described by a very famous author whose name I forget as "the best view in the world." I don't go on vacation to learn.

PS - Did you know that the Delta gates at the Phoenix airport are not in the main terminal? We didn't either, until we had toured the whole thing in our hour-long layover before being told to exit the airport, take a bus to another area, and re-enter through security. We were those people running through the airport with unwieldy rolling luggage, swearing and sweating profusely because we layered for the frigid airplanes but it was 90 degrees in Arizona. I was the last person to board after running to the gate in my socks. I WIN, PHX!

October 27, 2010

Here I am at the end of my blog adventure that began almost five months ago. It took less time than I thought it would, but it did inspire me to really appreciate the talent that resides within a radius of just hours from my own home. I have to apologize to the shops who were not featured; it was not purposeful. Every shop was included unless it was on vacation or would not load at the time of my creating the treasury. If I were more organized, I would have kept track so I could go back and feature those who I missed. Maybe I'll get it together someday, but in any case I hope to continue to find time to peruse Etsy between work and family and selling the house and random medical mysteries and whatnot.

This last treasury is just some of my very favorites from the past five months.

October 20, 2010

The premise:This blogventure celebrates my favorite colors, blue and green, while paying homage to the awesomeness of the HandmadeMN members via Etsy treasuries. Each one features items from a particular crafting category as listed on the HandmadeMN blog. If you like the items, leave a comment on the treasury - comments will bump the treasury toward the top of the list so other folks are more likely to view it and give some love to these fabulous artists!

Some categories have just a few shops and others have so many that they'll cover more than one week; I want everybody to get fair attention, so you might see some random treasuries here and there. It'll take at least six months to get through all the HandmadeMN shops, so saddle up!Ammendment 1 (8.8.10): When I say "Wednesday" I really mean any day of the week.

October 13, 2010

Ignoring the hacked up photoshopping job I did to edit out some people and make this beach appear more exclusive than it actually was, you can totally see how awesome it is in Hawaii. It's just that beer bellies don't really sell a place. It was my favorite beach out of the many that we visited on the north shore of Oahu, where there are inexplicably NO hotels other than the Turtle Bay resort. But that didn't so much matter because we were able to stay with the newly-wed Pattersons. Some couples go on vacation to reconnect; we use romantic beach scenes as rendezvous points to meet with worldly friends and invade the homes of folks married less than two months.

Waimea beach is about ten minutes from our hosts' abode. Fifteen minutes away is the renowned Turtle Bay, where you can get ridiculously expensive facials and actually see hoards of sea turtles. The feral cat hanging around the spa was slightly off-puting, but the *free* shower caps made up for it. In between Turtle Bay and "home" is Sunset beach, where the great Pacific Ocean claimed the rental car keys. At least I got an opportunity to snap this horrible pic of a TINY egret while we waited for a ride. These things were everywhere and only about 10" tall. Super cute.

And here we are, sans Hubs who is taking the pictures. Gimpy McGimperson, The Bride, me, Baby Mama, and Morning Fox.

In celebration of Gimpy's 30th birthday we spent a night in Waikiki and stayed in the very same hotel where Hubs and I had our honeymoon five years ago. We also spent the week eating massive quantities of food, especially meat. Also, vacationing with friends is very, very dangerous for the pocketbook. All for the birthday. Yes, the birthday.

In the next installment: we battle sand, bugs, ski slopes, and the Phoenix airport.

The premise:This blogventure celebrates my favorite colors, blue and green, while paying homage to the awesomeness of the HandmadeMN members via Etsy treasuries. Each one features items from a particular crafting category as listed on the HandmadeMN blog. If you like the items, leave a comment on the treasury - comments will bump the treasury toward the top of the list so other folks are more likely to view it and give some love to these fabulous artists!

Some categories have just a few shops and others have so many that they'll cover more than one week; I want everybody to get fair attention, so you might see some random treasuries here and there. It'll take at least six months to get through all the HandmadeMN shops, so saddle up!Ammendment 1 (8.8.10): When I say "Wednesday" I really mean any day of the week.

October 6, 2010

The premise:This blogventure celebrates my favorite colors, blue and green, while paying homage to the awesomeness of the HandmadeMN members via Etsy treasuries. Each one features items from a particular crafting category as listed on the HandmadeMN blog. If you like the items, leave a comment on the treasury - comments will bump the treasury toward the top of the list so other folks are more likely to view it and give some love to these fabulous artists!

Some categories have just a few shops and others have so many that they'll cover more than one week; I want everybody to get fair attention, so you might see some random treasuries here and there. It'll take at least six months to get through all the HandmadeMN shops, so saddle up!Ammendment 1 (8.8.10): When I say "Wednesday" I really mean any day of the week.

October 1, 2010

I'm just racking up the nephews here, and I'm behind on the sharing. Newest one is Maxwell Douglas, brother to the infamous Laura and Sam, born of my sister's womb on September 16, 2010.

His second cousin, Emily, was born two days earlier over in Wisconsin. I wonder if her cord has fallen off yet. Max's fell off the other day and no one knows where it went. I think the dog ate it.

Max still sleeps a lot but he's hands-down the best eater I've ever known. He literally was born ready. I know because I was there. It was not as messy as I was expecting, and it was just the amount of disturbing I was expecting. Also miraculous and emotional.

Laura totally loves him and wants to hold him and is very concerned with his well-being. She makes his bed. Sammy is unsure, as any four-year-old would be, but is mostly amenable to the baby.

And all I want to do is squeeze and poke his little baby tummy and cheeks. That is all.

About Me

I am a framer/sociologist/writer/retail maven with a penchant for crafting whatever I can get my hands on. Also rambling. I'd like to be in a band. I'm always in awe of life's dualities. I love pop culture. I believe in karma and humanism. I dabble in drawing. I have an awesome husband, the cutest Jack Russell Terrier ever, and a super-kid.

My shop will return. Maybe.

Subscribe To

Please note...

That, of course, the thoughts here are my own. I try to be truthful and fair. The images are the property of myself or the person indicated. Anything taken from here should be credited accordingly and not sold in any form. Thank you!